Gilded Lily(47)

Adam smirked at her blatant return of his words. “I see. So she relies on you and Tony to take care of her?”

“Only certain needs. Lily is very dependent on Tony for security. She feels safe with him, like he won’t judge her for her desires. She has a thirst that’s not easy for most men to satisfy, and Tony allows her the freedom to explore those feelings without fear of being punished or shunned.”

“Have a lot of men tried to be in her life and satisfy these needs?”

“A few thought they were worthy. She opened up to only one, and that proved to be her undoing. He treated her like some kind of pervert. Like she was crazy. Even made her go to counseling.”

Adam leaned on the railing. “You’re revealing more than she’d like, aren’t you?”

Renee stood up and opened the screen door. “Yes, but I have faith in you. I think you have a thirst much like our Lily’s.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The way you impaled me on your cock. You knew exactly what I needed to get off and didn’t hold back. You made me push my limits. You knew what you wanted and you took it. Lily is the same way. She has to have it at all costs.”

“Then why hasn’t she been with a man in a while?” Adam asked.

“She hasn’t found one who can keep up with her. You don’t understand, Adam. Lily has some special delights she can’t seem to go without. One of her favorites is incomprehensible to most men. And, well, she’s not going to give her whole self to someone again until she knows for sure she can trust him.” Adam followed Renee through the doorway. “Last time she did, he broke her heart.”

Adam stood at the end of the sofa and watched Lily as she started to stir. Renee went to her and pulled on the blanket.

“Lily?” Renee gently rubbed her hip.

“Can she sleep here?” Adam asked.

Renee kissed Lily on the cheek and folded the blanket back over her shoulder. “You’ll take the wrath when she wakes up and realizes she didn’t get punished today.” Renee looked up and grinned, then slipped her feet into her sandals.

“What about Tony?” he asked. Renee snapped her eyes up at Adam. “Why is he so calm and collected? What’s his story?”

Adam leaned against the arm of the sofa as Renee walked over to him; her closeness made him want to back up. It was one thing to fuck a woman; it was another to be intimate. He didn’t have the least desire to get any closer to the bronze-skinned beauty.

“Renee, I’m sorry. If I was too rough in any way, I apologize. Once I get going, my body has one goal. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

She cupped his groin, making him want to leap back. “You’re built so well you could never hurt me. I do hope Lily will let you take her soon. But a word to the wise, Adam.” She pulled her hand away and ran it through his thick hair. “Be gentle with her. It’s been a long time, and she won’t be ready to be taken like that yet. As for her trainer, he’s tight-lipped about his past. I don’t know everything about where he came from, and we’ve been dating for two years. The one time I pried, he gave me short answers and expertly skirted around the issues I was trying to get to. That’s just Tony. He’s very private. But one thing he’s very vocal about is his feelings regarding Lily. He cares for her very much.” Her smile seemed to be laced with sadness as she looked out at the gray clouds.

“I understand you, Adam. You may think your tastes are unreasonable, but they’re not. Trusting someone enough to give and receive pleasure together is a precious cycle. Sometimes that relationship takes time to evolve. You have to work for it. Lily is timid when it comes to trust. Are you ready to get your hands dirty, to get down and push yourself?”

Adam smiled, realizing it was going to be a task he was more than happy to undertake.





Chapter Eight

Adam ran his finger over the embossed gold lettering on the envelope as he walked down the path to the main house. Why hadn’t she come and asked him to attend the ball? Instead she’d laid the invitation, wrapped in a white silk cloth, outside his door.

A sapling stretched its bright green leaves across the path, almost blinding Adam as he ducked around the branch to get out of its way. He pulled the invitation out of the envelope as he walked, this time looking up as a squirrel went chirping across a fallen log next to the path. The words on the card had been embossed onto the black paper. Each letter shimmered with gold sparkles. He had been cordially invited to attend the Voodoo Ball on July tenth. He looked at his watch: only three days away. He wanted to find Lily and ask her what the invitation meant by “costume.”